American reactions to Putin's response to the Obama administration's decision to enact sanctions and expel a number of Russian diplomats in response to Russian interference in this year's Presidential elections come in two very distinct flavors. On the one hand, you have Putin's increasingly unabashed Trumpnik/alt.right cheerleaders, who see it as nothing less than DEVASTATING 1000+++ Double-KEK PWNAGE!!! Seriously, check out those Tweets and just try to imagine how Kremlin propagandists could possibly lay it on any thicker. Meanwhile, over in the reality-based community, a more nuanced take is developing...

It is in the role of concerned observer, and not in that of satirical prankster, that I propose the Democratic Party give some serious thought to having Howard Stern run as their candidate in the 2020 Presidential election. His positives are higher than Trump's and his negatives far lower. He's far more intelligent, and his closet doors were flung wide open years ago, so there's no way he could be undone by opposition research. The Republicans would have to rely on going low and attacking his strengths--not unlike when draft-dodging coke-head Dubya Bush "Swiftboated" decorated Vietnam War veteran John Kerry--and that tactic simply would not work on Stern. What's more, I think he would relish the opportunity. And you know what else? I think he has the makings of a pretty good post-modern President. I am, of course, willing to entertain any arguments against in the comments section, below.

While the apparent outrage over the UN's recent condemnation of Israel's ongoing construction of illegal settlements on Palestinian land might look like much ado about nothing--after all, it's not like it's going to kink the one-way pipeline funneling endless gobs of American taxpayer money to "the Middle East's Only Functioning DemocracyTM"--the Likudnik reaction might actually be signaling a potential sea-change for US/Israel relations. I mean, most of the anti-Semites in Trump's entourage are also ardent Zionists, but with a cohort this volatile, you never can tell.

Speaking of future candidates for public office, how many of you Yanks were aware that Canada has a Donald Trump of it's very own? Former IT industry "titan" and current TV personality Kevin O'Leary even boasts a business track record that is almost as disastrous as The Donald's! So of course he wants to be Prime Minister of the Great White North. Just what Canada needs... more warmed over copycatting of an All American phenomenon.

A DEEPER DIVE

Sorry this weekend's Executive Summary is so late, but I wanted to be able to report on who won tonight's UFC 207 championship fight in this, the final edition for the year 2016. So congratulations, Amanda Nunes, on retaining your title belt! I don't really care all that much either way, but I know a lot of other folks do, so kudos!

Amazon.com has filed a patent for "flying warehouses". They would hover inventory high above areas where corporate metrics would show a high demand, and drones would fly back and forth delivering orders. Insert generic "truly these are the End Times" joke here.

A lot of you emailed to ask about the art at the top of last Wednesday's Guest Editorial; you know, the image depicting Trump in a beshitted diaper about to knock a globe off a table? Turns out the artist who created the image in question is a Norwegian fellow by the name of Christian Bloom. You can check out more of his artwork (an example is at the top of today's Executive Summary, directly above) at his professional website, which--despite being in Norwegian--is easy on the eyes and not too difficult to navigate. I was particularly impressed by the "kommentarfeltet" section. Enyoy!

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. According to this grim journalistic account by Emily Jane Fox, Trump's Washington DC hotel is already doomed to fail. The piece also serves as a savage review of the facilities, detailing a level of narcissistic hubris that would put Ozymandius to shame. Well worth the read.

2. Charlie Brooker's "year in review" specials are a yearly tradition at Chateau LeBoeuf, where Brooker has enjoyed Favored Nation status since way before Black Mirror, or even before anybody knew what he looks like. For cryin' out loud, I still have a first edition copy of his TV Go Home book after multiple moves, multiple mass sell-offs of personal property, and a couple of serious health crises! And so here's Charlie Brooker's 2016 Wipe, temporarily available on Youtube (if it disappears, just search, someone else will put it up). Enjoy!

3. If you desperately want to understand exactly how the Republican Party and their enablers in the conservative movement paved the way for Donald J. Trump's legally dubious and morally bankrupt election "victory" in November, but you have trouble digesting the vast amount of data generated by the multiple journalistic investigations that helped uncover it, why not try downloading a free, handsomely illustrated, information packed comic book that presents all the most important, key information relating to this national tragedy in a format that is easy to digest, remember, and pass along to others (if you use Gmail, be sure to check your "promotions" folder for the download, cuz that's where the assholes at Google sent mine). While you're doing so, maybe toss a couple shekels in author Greg Palast's beggin' cup. It's not required, but much appreciated. You are a rebel soldier standing against an Evil Axis that is waging a Total War on Reality, so you might as well be armed to the teeth with TRUTH.

***QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Never read the first 10 links on Google."

- Sandro Pasquali, bona fide software genius and a personal friend, thinks it's "sad and amusing" how people crow about Google and Facebook being such great and intelligent tools to find the information you need. He therefore offers up the above strategy, to which I, yer old pal Jerky, offer up a whole-hearted seconding. He also wrote Embraceable You, an essay detailing the real-world factors that go into how Google and Facebook decide what to serve you up next.

DDD EXTRAS

Read all about non-Trumpnik GOP strategist Rick Wilson's take on the grotesque spectacle of Trump and his toad army kneeling down to Putin's Russia in this epic Tweet stormpublished on Friday morning right here in the DDD.

Saddam Hussein is executed on this day in 2006, in one of the ugliest, cowardly, most shameful chapters in a metaphorical book that is clogged to the choking with ugly, cowardly, shameful chapters. Find out more in Friday's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog.

On this day in 1999, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor. Read all about it, and more, in Saturday's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog.

Haiti gains its independence on this day in 1804 after the first, and to date only, successful slave rebellion in world history. The Powers That Be have been punishing them ever since. Check out Sunday's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog, for more intriguing parapolitical facts.

THE TAKEAWAY

Good riddance to 2016, a truly putrid, Satanic bitch-whore of a year. The only possible way 2017 could be any worse is if we all had to get into a time machine and go back a year, which means we'd have to spend that time experiencing 2016 all over again. Not sure how that'd work, exactly, but anyway, don't drink and drive. But if you have to... drive real slow!

Friday, December 30, 2016

As one of the few non-Trumpnik Republicans left standing alongside the increasingly impressive Evan McMullin, media wonk Rick Wilsontook to Twitter yesterday to promote his latest story for The Daily Beast and to call out Trump loyalists and Russian trolls (both witting and unwitting) for what appears to be a complete lack of political consistency, historical perspective, concern for the possible consequences, or sense of shame. It's short, but all the more effective for its succinctness.

Take it away, Rick!

In the course of the 2016 campaign I don't know how many times I was called a traitor to America for not supporting Trump.

Of course, these intellectual giants never bothered to understand the specific definition of treason. All opposition to Trump was treason

What's closer to treason? Political opposition to a candidate, or siding with a hostile foreign power in the Intel war?

Make no mistake; Trump and his lackeys, ball-washers and toadies today clearly demonstrated their allegiance is to Putin.

This wasn't Obama playing a game. This was him responding to the IC's rising certainty and fury at the extent of Russia's meddling.

Trump is getting sworn in. He's going to be President. If you are more concerned that his wittle feels are hurt that the truth of...

RUS intel services and leadership wanted Trump, hacked to help Trump, and have deep ties to him and his team then you're the ones...

flirting with disloyalty to the security of this country well beyond a political disagreement.

You believe in absurd, baroque conspiracy horseshit like Pizzagate, but can't conceive RUS leaders could seek to disrupt an election?

You buy into the wildest, darkest, lunatic theories ("Hillary is a pedophile cannibal!") but ignore the conclusions of the ENTIRE IC.

You're accepting an ongoing, state-sponsored set of attacks on Americans, American institutions and American security because...

...you don't want Trump's presidency to have an asterisk next to it, like a ball player with a home run count fueled by steroids and HGH

Tough. It's already there. So here's my question for Trump defenders; how much RUS intervention in our elections is ok with you?

Oh, just FYI, "IC" means "Intelligence Community". Follow Rick (and Evan) on Twitter via the links above for an intriguing, "adult" conservative perspective on the tragedies of 2016, which are certain to leak all over the next few years, like a gutshot buck trailing its innards on the far side of the river, waiting on death to claim it in the cold dark night.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Whether it's those 6000 Sprint jobs or pretty much any other piece of good economic news, Trump is continuing to try and take credit for the Obama economy. Can anything be more perfectly "Trump" than a white guy who did nothing trying to take credit for 8 years of work from a Black man he called lazy? Well, maybe one thing; fucking it all up, which appears to be exactly what's on the menu.

Members of a completely isolated Neolithic Amazonian tribe, living deep within the rain forests of Brazil, have been photographed from the air, offering what National Geographic is calling "an unprecedented" look into their way of life. The photo above is one of many striking images captured.

A DEEPER DIVE

"Hey Jorgi!" Something is rotten in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, where 46 year old Sanat Dosov--a critic of the Nazarbayev regime--has been sentenced to 3 years in a penal colony for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a fascist. Apparently, special snowflake Putin needs a safe space where he can hide from politically incorrect hate words, the poor dear.

After it came to light that Uday Trump was using his extremely shady "cancer" charity to solicit bribes from VIPs in exchange for access to his father, the Trump clan made the decision to close up shop, whining all the while about having to follow rules, as if they were mere mortals or something.

The magma chambers that make up Italy's "Campi Flegrei" supervolcano--which anthropologists theorize helped kill off the Neanderthals--are rapidly approaching Critical Degassing Pressure (CPD), which could mean that it's getting ready to erupt. Considering how shitty things have been going lately, it's probably best that the people of nearby Naples keep their fingers crossed for the next little while.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Today's "suggested reading" comes in the form of a 45 minute documentary that was created prior to the election, and which purports to show, from a conservative stance, exactly why and how Donald Trump is not just unfit to be President, but why electing him would constitute a historic tragedy from which it might not be possible to fully recover. I think watching Ben Howe's film, The Sociopath, is even more important now that Trump has won, so that we're better prepared for what might be in store...

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"If the dam ruptured, it would likely cause a catastrophe of Biblical proportions, loosing a wave as high as a hundred feet that would roll down the Tigris, swallowing everything in its path for more than a hundred miles. Large parts of Mosul would be submerged in less than three hours. Along the riverbanks, towns and cities containing the heart of Iraq’s population would be flooded; in four days, a wave as high as sixteen feet would crash into Baghdad, a city of six million people."

- Apparently, the Mosul dam is on the verge of collapsing, and nobody's sure how fix the problem, or even how to convince the people who might be swept away that the danger is real, and not just a "Western conspiracy" of some sort.

DDD EXTRAS

After nearly ten years as an independent country, the Republic of Texas is annexed by the fast-growing USA on this day in 1845! Read all about it, and more, in today's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog!

THE TAKEAWAY

Readership is on the upswing, but there's still not much engagement in the comments section. I'd like to see that change in the new year. Do any of you have any suggestions? Should I maybe create a Daily Dirt Diaspora discussion board?

Remember on Monday, when I linked to a whole bunch of cogently argued, intellectually substantive commentaries about how alt.right activists and conservative movementarians have been "protesting too much" and/or pretending not to understand what concerned citizens and journalistic professionals mean when they warn about the pernicious effects of "fake news"? Well, along comes FOX News muppet Tucker Carlson--owner of the most punch-worthy face in all of Christendom and living embodiment of journalistic malpractice--to provide a vivid real-world example of precisely what those grown-ups were referring to, in this brief interview with what appears to be a malfunctioning robot.

SUGGESTED READINGS

If you've ever played the late 80's spaceship combat video game Star Patrol before, you'll no doubt have fond memories about how awesome it was. You got to pilot a variety of strange alien ships, outfitted with a battery of unique weapons systems, plus you could watch the ship commanders operating the controls in little windows on the right side of the screen! Sheer magic. And now, thanks to the proliferation of online video game emulators, you can play Star Patrol from the comfort of your web browser! Just try not to waste too much time. I don't want anybody losing their jobs over this.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Merry Christmas to all! Over two millennia ago, a new hope was born into the world, a Savior who would offer the promise of salvation to all mankind. Just as the three wise men did on that night, this Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King."

- I can't even think of anything clever to say about his year's GOP Christmas message, sent out by RNC hack Reince Priebus. His misbegotten attempt to cast Trump's grubby election theft as some kind of messianic miracle is so manifestly grotesque and perverse, it defies satire and renders parody irrelevant. It does, however, offer up an opportunity to point out that, when you take the vowels out of Reince Priebus' name, you're left with RNC PR BS, which is almost too fucking perfect.

DDD EXTRAS

On this day in 1895, the cinema and X-rays are born! Read all about these two great "firsts", and more, in today's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog!

THE TAKEAWAY

With under a month left for them to do it, Americans should expect President Obama's outgoing team to do everything in their power to help mitigate the incoming administration of con men and chaos agents. The clock starts now.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

According to an elections expert who helped design a widely adopted, comprehensive method for evaluating the quality of elections and democratic representation around the globe, North Carolina no longer qualifies as a fully functioning democracy.

With his disgusting, cowardly, and counterfactual claims that Russia is a "vibrant" and "tolerant" place for journalists--pro-tip: it's not--Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has finally jumped the shark, irreversibly exposing himself as one of Putin's growing army of useful Western idiots. As if his disgusting use of Seth Rich's murder as a prop in his political pantomime wasn't sufficient evidence of that. You know, on second thought, maybe those rape accusations aren't so bogus after all...

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"All I want for Christmas is White Genocide."

- Putting the lie to the idea that it's liberals who are the victim culture special snowflakes "par excellence", the alt.right noosphere exploded with outrage (most of it fake, but some of it genuine) over an obviously satirical Tweet by Drexel professor George Cicciariello-Miller, which was meant to call attention to one of the more ridiculous alt.right tropes to find purchase in the diseased conservative psyche of late. Now, despite constantly lamenting the tyranny of PC and warning about "public shaming" culture, they're trying to get the guy fired. Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Conservatism!

2016, the Year That Killed Music, claims another artist before his time as George Michael dies of heart failure at his home, at the ridiculous age of 53 years old. Matters of public restroom etiquette aside, there's simply no denying Careless Whisper's status as slow jam for the ages. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the fact that prog rock superstar Greg Lake also recently passed away, killed by cancer at 69. The former King Crimson singer joins his ELP organist, Keith Emerson, as yet another victim of the Curse of 2016. Here's hoping ELP's last surviving member, drummer Carl Palmer, has somewhere safe and quiet to hide out in until the end of next week.

Conservatives have always hated Snopes.com, but with the right-wing War Against Truth having recently gone into overdrive, the bullshit debunking site is now Public Enemy Number One, and efforts at taking it down have begun in earnest. But with every serious study ever conducted proving that Snopes is among the least biased sources available, what are all those poor conservative propagandists to do? Well, for starters, how about getting the Daily Mail to run an article using the messy divorce of site's founders to try to cast a shadow over Snopes' debunking efforts? Then how about getting egg-sucking shit-for-brains fascist lapdog Matt Drudge to link to that story on his website, so every knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, minority-despising anti-SJW Trumpnik on God's Green Earth "knows" that "you can't trust Snopes"? Finally, how about getting a semi-reputable outlet like Forbes to do a follow-up report? This will let "respectable conservatives" know that, the next time anyone tries to counter their lies by bringing up Snopes, it is hereby okay to simply furrow your brow, squint sadly, and let out a rueful Mike Pence chuckle at how misguided they are!

Over at the Washington Post, Catherine Rampell asks: "Why did all those Economically Anxious™ Trump voters reject policies that would have helped relieve their economic anxiety? Maybe they believed any Big Government expansions would disproportionately go to the “wrong” kinds of people — that is, people unlike themselves." Yes, friends, the idea that Democrats need to drop “identity politics” and reach out to the (white) working class is bass-ackwards. Democrats did reach out to the (white) working class. But the white working class were the ones who were too busy playing identity politics to notice. And that's a fact.

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. In his Christmas Day editorial for the New York Times, Jeremy W. Peters takes a deep dive into an issue that comes up in numerous links in today's Executive Summary: the "Fake News" kerfuffle. He begins:

The C.I.A., the F.B.I. and the White House may all agree that Russia was behind the hacking that interfered with the election. But that was of no import to the website Breitbart News, which dismissed reports on the intelligence assessment as “left-wing fake news.”

Rush Limbaugh has diagnosed a more fundamental problem. “The fake news is the everyday news” in the mainstream media, he said on his radio show recently. “They just make it up.” Some supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump have also taken up the call. As reporters were walking out of a Trump rally this month in Orlando, Fla., a man heckled them with shouts of “Fake news!”

Until now, that term had been widely understood to refer to fabricated news accounts that are meant to spread virally online. But conservative cable and radio personalities, top Republicans and even Mr. Trump himself, incredulous about suggestions that that fake stories may have helped swing the election, have appropriated the term and turned it against any news they see as hostile to their agenda.

In defining “fake news” so broadly and seeking to dilute its meaning, they are capitalizing on the declining credibility of all purveyors of information, one product of the country’s increasing political polarization. And conservatives, seeing an opening to undermine the mainstream media, a longtime foe, are more than happy to dig the hole deeper.

The rest of his essay is very much worth reading, and you should also see today's "Quote of the Day" for more on this important topic.

2. Most of you reading this are probably well aware that we either at the start--or already in the midst--of the sixth mass extinction event in the history of life on our planet. However, most of you reading this probably aren't aware of exactly how devastatingly swift this horrific process is going to be, once it goes into full swing, which could be any day now. This interactive (if somewhat unwieldy) presentation by CNN helps bring some of the issues involved into sharper focus, and has some intriguing features about diagnostic tools and potential solutions that I, personally, had never encountered before. Recommended. I urge you to share this with the young people in your life.

3. I mentioned above that we lost Greg Lake last week, and most of you reading this know that yer old pal Jerky is a massive progressive rock fanatic -- not least of which because of the majesty that is King Crimson -- so I thought I'd share something beautiful with you all, something that goes a way towards explaining my obsession with this particular genre of music. And so I hereby present Greg Lake's vocal tracks for "Epitaph", from King Crimson's debut album, the absolutely essential In The Court of the Crimson King...

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Over the years, we’ve effectively brainwashed the core of our audience to distrust anything that they disagree with. And now it’s gone too far. Because the gatekeepers have lost all credibility in the minds of consumers, I don’t see how you reverse it."

- Somewhat repentant conservative radio talk show host John Ziegler spills the beans on how the right-wing propaganda Wurlitzer works in this incredibly important article from The Nation, entitled "Fake News is Not the Real Media Threat We're Facing", by scholar David A. Bell. If you follow only one link from today's DDD ExecSum, then let it be this vitally important exploration of what may be the single most pressing danger looming over the American experiment at this fraught and perilous stage in history.

DDD EXTRAS

The worst natural catastrophe in living memory happens when an earthquake sparks a deadly tsunami leads to the loss of a quarter million lives. Read all about it, and more, in today's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog!

The Cult of Movement Conservatism is waging a war against reality. The battlefield is your mind, and the objective is your allegiance. The sophistication of their arsenal should not be underestimated. They have even managed to weaponize our skepticism, our cynicism, our doubts. More on this, coming soon to this space.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Despite frantic behind the scenes efforts to scuttle it, the latest UN resolution demanding an end to the building of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory was successfully passed when President Obama refused to use the USA's traditional veto against any and all resolutions critical of Israel. And boy howdy, is Netanyahu pissed! Just FYI, if you're pissing off both Trump and Netanyahu, it's a fair bet that you're on the right side of an issue.

Speaking of being on the right side of an issue, President Obama doubled down on his Good Guy Cred today by ordering the Department of Homeland Security to dismantle the NSEERS Muslim registry that was put into place by the Bush administration after the September 11 attacks, so that Trump won't have access to it when he reaches the White House.

Turns out yesterday's flippant comment about Trump trying to bring back the 80's by re-igniting the global nuclear arms race was disturbingly close to the truth, as recent tweets and public comments seem to indicate that's exactly what he's trying to do.

Berlin vehicular homicide terrorist Anis Amri was spotted and killed by police on Friday after what is being described as "a routine spot check" in Milan. Expect to see this incident used as an excuse for increased police powers and a return to "Stop and Frisk" policies in the US.

A DEEPER DIVE

Trump's ongoing meltdown over the fact that no big name celebrities are willing to show up for his inauguration has been nothing short of spectacular. Threats have been issued, bribes have been tendered, and the heads of staff have rolled, and yet still those tasked with scoring talent for the gig can't find any takers. And I won't lie to you; watching Trump's struggle has given me a certain measure of comfort. Yesterday, however, Trump took to Twitter and posted a cri de coeur so tragically transparency that it was almost heartbreaking in its lack of self awareness. Ladies and gentleman, I give the single most pathetic Tweet ever Twatted by a grown-ass man:

The casting call at Trump Tower will deliver a kakistocratic tour de force for our four-year reality show, including a vague send-up of J.R. Ewing at Foggy Bottom, the ghost of George Wallace gleefully ripping up copies of the Voting Rights Act at Justice, a pretty brown lady at the UN, a black guy doing “urban housing” and a paranoid Colonel Klink knock-off phoning Moscow to dish the latest conspiracy theories from the National Security desk in the West Wing.

Let’s not forget the rumpled white nationalist gurgling in the president’s ear about never forgetting Euro-Christian civilization and our white-haired national preacher V.P. tut-tutting working women to embrace motherhood and let the men do the jobbing as his friends in Congress place their birth control on the high shelf.

And if you think the above it juicy, wait'll you get to what she writes about Trum's boys, Uday and Qusay! Enjoy!

2. A new song/video from Trent Reznor / Nine Inch Nails is always cause for celebration, in yer old pal Jerky's opinion. He's long been a favorite, and this new piece has me excited to see what else he's got planned for his listeners.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford [sic]. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret [sic], who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady [sic] cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her. Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."

- Buffalo's own Carl Paladino, mobbed-up former Republican gubernatorial candidate for the state of New York - and associate of the equally mobbed-up President Elect - responds to a survey conducted by Art Voice in which various personalities were asked what they would like to see happen in the year 2017.

DDD EXTRAS

King Dagobert II of the Merovingians is assassinated, the Federal Reserve Act is signed into law, the transistor is born, and the World Trace Center tops out, becoming the tallest building in the world! Plus more! All in today's edition of the Paracultural Calendar, over at our sister blog, Useless Eater.

Ben Franklin arrives in London, "Silent Night" is first performed, the KKK is born, NORAD first tracks Santa's progress, the UK gets its own Roswell, and more! All in Saturday's edition of the Paracultural Calendar, over at our sister blog, Useless Eater.

Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor, Ukraine declares its independence from the USSR, the Huygens Probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan, and more! All in Sunday's edition of the Paracultural Calendar, over at our sister blog, Useless Eater.

THE TAKEAWAY

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Peace on Earth, and Good Will Towards All. Except Carl Paladino. He can go fuck himself.

Friday, December 23, 2016

After wrapping up the evacuation of civilians and rebels, Assad's forces have moved into and begun securing the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo.

The death toll following a chain of explosions at a popular fireworks market on the outskirts of Mexico City has risen to 35. Mexican fireworks are no joke, guys.

As police in Berlin identify Tunisian immigrant Anis Amri as the prime suspect for the recent deadly vehicular terror attack on a popular Christmas Market, police in Melbourne, Australia, claim to have disrupted an ISIS-inspired terror plot to bomb multiple targets there on Christmas Day. Seven are in custody.

A DEEPER DIVE

Actor/director Lena Dunham cracked a joke about wishing she'd had an abortion, and conservative pundits -- for whom whining about the overly sensitive and politically correct delicate snowflakes of "the Left" makes up approximately half their shtick -- collectively losttheirfuckingminds. Not that they had much to lose in the first place, but still. Meanwhile, as a withering torrent of abuse was hurled her way from both her Right and Left flanks, Dunham responded in the worst possible way: She apologized.

Global Warming has shifted into overdrive up at the roof of the world, in the Arctic region, with numerous records being shattered this year, and scientists are declaring that there will be increasingly grave consequences that will soon be impossible to ignore.

Among the countless ways in which Trump's ascendancy to the White House has been, and continues to be, unprecedented, perhaps the most ominous break with tradition is his insistence on maintaining his own private security force instead of relying on the Secret Service, as basically every modern President has done. For students of history, the ominous parallels should be plainly obvious.

Donald Trump with his finger on the nuclear trigger. Donald Trump with the nuclear “football,” the so-called black briefcase of doom, always within reach. The briefcase with the nuclear targeting codes: China yes? Moscow no?

Donald Trump with the power to destroy life on earth. At the heart of the near hysterical (and mostly justified) Fear of Trump that escalates as he approaches the Republican nomination is the Fear of Trump With the Trigger. That explosive temperament combined with that explosive capability.

But it has largely been forgotten that Trump is not new to nuclear matters. He has been thinking about how he’d handle nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation for more than a quarter-century, at least since 1987, when he claimed to me that he was “dealing at a very high level” with people in the White House (that would have been the Reagan White House) on doomsday questions.

It seemed like a joke, when I first heard of it back then. But at the very peak of the Cold War, when the U.S. and the then Soviet Union had an estimated 25,000 nukes to target at each other, thousands of them on hair-trigger alert (no Trump jokes about “hair trigger” please), Donald Trump announced that he had the know-how to solve the world’s nuclear problems.

Trump … to the rescue? ... I used to laugh when I thought back on Trump and me in "21" talking nukes. I'm not laughing anymore.

2. In case you were curious, the image at the top of today's Executive Summary, created by Twitter's ChrisTheBarker, features many of the celebrities who died in the year 2016 -- the shittiest year within living memory for most -- along with a few other non-death-related markers, such as a BREXIT floral arrangement and a bright red MAGA ballcap. See if you can identify all the corpses, or any of the other in-jokes included in the above image!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You've been hearing me say it's a rigged system but now I don't say it anymore because I won, okay? It's true. You know? Now I don't care! I don't care."

- Trump isn't even in the White House yet, and he's already begun alerting his poor, deluded followers that they got cucked, and hard, by a fast-talking fat-headed arrogant member of the East Coast Establishment elite. Man, somewhere deep down inside, you know that's gotta hurt.

DDD EXTRAS

Savanah falls! The Dreyfus Affair begins! Bernie Goetz lets loose! And the Shoe Bomber makes a fool of himself! Read all about it in today's Paracultural Calendar, over at the Useless Eater Blog!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Every once in a while, I like to hand the reins over to friends, associates and assorted fellow travelers and let them "get they write on" as kids these days are wont to declare. Today's guest editorialist is my old pal Ima Pseudonym, who's been a steadfast friend and patron since back in the days when the Daily Dirt was actually a viable, ongoing commercially lucrative concern. Ah... those were the days. Anyhoo, I hereby leave you in his capable hands! - YOPJ

***

Dear Jerky;

On Friday, January 20, 2017, a cartoon villain from the 1980's is going to become Commander in Chief of the world's most powerful military, and roughly half of all Americans who turned out to vote are abso-fucking-lutely ecstatic over it.

I wish I could believe they were just so desperate for change, ANY change, that Trump is just some random shit they threw at the wall to see if anything would stick. But that doesn't explain all, or even most, of it.

About 80% of evangelical voters came out for Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight. A vengeful, thin-skinned, narcissistic man-child with delusions of grandeur - a man with the charisma of an ambulance-chasing lawyer with bad body odor - became the GOP's Chosen One, and evangelical leaders swarmed to his banner like flies to shit. They all but commanded their faithful followers to vote for the bastard.

And they worked overtime to sell him, too, marking him with their stink so the pack wouldn't reject him. They overlooked his infidelity, blatant bigotry and over-the-top sexism, scary ties to corrupt foreign governments, delusional narcissism and greed that verges on psychosis. Aand that's not even counting the known crimes, scandals, multiple conflicts of interest, allegations of sexual assault, or the money he pissed away on vanity projects.

They banged on Benghazi like a drum and dug up every last bit of scandal with which to slam Hillary, even making up a few for good measure. Hell, they've had it in for her since Nixon's Impeachment! But their ultimate weapon was fear. Vote for Trump, lest "Antichrist Clitler" win.

Funny how the Right missed the forest for the trees. They were so busy looking for wolves in sheep's clothing, they failed to spot the wolf.

Half a century ago, the Birchers screamed that the Devil was in cahoots with the Russians. Now, it's the liberals' turn. If you'd told me that 20 years ago, I'd have said you were batshit.

And yet, here we are.

They don't care about Trump the Man, as long as he secures the Supreme Court for another generation. They'll overlook his sins and hail him, even as they prepare to call another Constitutional Convention, America's cheat codes.

They love power, they love Putin, they love Marshal Cheetoh. The right loves their strongmen, after all. Everything else is negotiable.

Not too surprising, I suppose. The only thing the Right worships is raw, naked power. Everything and everyone else are secondary. No one likes a loser, after all. But until now, at least they'd pay lip service. At least they'd pretend.

Now, the mask is off and all is revealed. That's the literal definition of "apocalypse," you know.

The Christian Right was tempted by Satan on the mountain, and unlike Jesus, they chose the world. Their souls were negotiable. They got what they wanted. The price might be missiles flying, but they couldn't give a rat's ass. They got their man on a white horse.

President Joseph Kabila, leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2001, looks set to ignore the rapidly approaching, constitutionally mandated end of his term, and a violent crackdown on opposition groups is expected.

A DEEPER DIVE

If you want to know why Trump's choice for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is a particularly abominable choice, watch this in depth Rachel Maddow report on how, as CEO of Exxon, he spearheaded a corporate foreign policy that was in direct conflict with America's foreign policy. We're talking Mr. Burns level evil, here folks. I know Maddow can be difficult to endure, but the information contained in this video is vitally important.

Now seems as good a time as any to remind folks that Russia really hates gay people. Like, they hate gay people a LOT. Like, remember Air Malaysia Flight 17? The one that was shot down by a Russian missile provided to Russian separatists in Ukraine by Russian officials before the launch mechanism was returned to Russia? Over a hundred of the world's top HIV/AIDS researchers were on board that flight. There were no survivors. So, yeah. Russia really hates gay people.

The Affordable Care Act Exchange - often pejoratively called "Obamacare" by "critics" - saw it's busiest day ever last Thursday, with 670,000 people selecting healthcare insurance plans via the federally run exchange marketplaces. "When I came into office," President Obama announced at a recent press conference, "44 million people were uninsured. Today, we’ve covered more than 20 million of them. For the first time in our history, more than 90 percent of Americans are insured." And that's just in the 39 states that agreed to take part! Not to worry, though... Trump is going to do everything in his power to make sure this world historic atrocity against the so-called Free Market is repealed, only to be replaced by... well, that remains to be seen. Or even speculated about.

SUGGESTED READING(S)

Just finished watching the final episodes of Westworld and wow... I'll probably have something to say about it soon. In the meantime, if anybody out there values my opinion on the worthiness of entertainment media, then by all means find and watch this series. It's fantastic, worthy to sit alongside Black Mirror as an important document relating to deep philosophical issues of our current age.

And finally for today's suggested readings, which includes suggested viewings as a matter of course, we have the first episode of a series of comedy shorts from Transatlantic alt.comedy legend Rich Fulcher, one of the weirdest guys in the biz. Enjoy!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It means someone's mother coughing blood. Or a father groaning in pain and yelling behind a closed door. It means parents or other family members arguing because after one of them missed a promotion at work - because of all the time spent taking care of a loved one. It means slammed doors. It means missed dinners. Most of all, it means a child somewhere, in some inconsequential town, crying, heaving sobs into his pillow, because his parent is going to die. Another child sitting in stunned silence in class, not listening to a word the teacher says."

- Josh Marshall, over at his TPM Blog, publishes a letter from one of his readers that puts into stark, vivid relief what exactly it will mean for real, live human beings to repeal Obamacare.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Syria has agreed to allow UN observers into Aleppo, where tens of thousands of civilians and rebels have already been successfully evacuated. Operations appear to be going off as smoothly as can be expected. A tiny ray of hope pierces the choking cloud of tragedy.

Officials in Austria's far-right ethno-nationalist Freedom Party (FPO) sign a pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, and publicly announce that they have already secretly met with members of Trump's entourage, including right-wing conspiracy monger Michael Flynn, for some as yet unexplained reason.

With Brexit and Trump's election already in the bag - and after having successfully funded far right and far left organizations throughout Europe over the last decade - Putin appears to be setting his sights on disrupting next year's German elections. As if the fact that Breitbart starting up a German language edition wasn't sufficient evidence of that!

A DEEPER DIVE

Compare President Obama's treatment of despicable fecal golem Trump to North Carolina's Republican governor Pat McCrory's post-defeat pseudo-coup in North Carolina for an education into how the GOP has reached the final stages of morphing from a political party into a dangerous fascist/totalitarian cult. Scientology's got nothing on "movement conservatism".

For the fiscally minded, Paul Krugman takes a look at Trump's "gathering of goldbugs" and wonders if the markets might be reacting to expectations about Trumponomics re: potential infrastructure investment that aren't very likely to be met. Among numerous key findings? "What we’re really looking at is a combination of tax cuts and spending cuts. Overall, this will surely increase budget deficits. But the tax cuts will go to the wealthy, who won’t spend much of their windfall, while the spending cuts will fall on the poor and struggling workers, who will be forced into sharp cutbacks in spending." He also takes a look at how some in Trump's current fiscal orbit proved to be dead wrong in their predictions about the effects of President Obama's fiscal policy, once again supplying proof positive that, in every way that matters, right-wingers live in Bizzarro World.

Actor Tom Arnold claims he is in possession of a videotape of outtakes from The Apprentice in which Trump says, well... "It was him sitting in that chair saying the N-word, saying the C-word, calling his son a retard, just being so mean to his own children." He also claims former California governor Arnold Schwarzenthingy called and implored him to make the tape public, but Arnold refused. Something to do with either the 5 million dollar nondisclosure penalty, or the fact that Arnold thinks the tape would have made people even more likely to vote for him. You decide which is more realistic.

SUGGESTED READING(S)

Back when I was an Internet famous "professional" writer, my proudest moment was when a reader wrote in to let me know that he'd run across Hunter S. Thompson at Denver International Airport and, when he asked the man for some recommendations on contemporary writers whose work was worth reading, was told: "there's this porno thing... the Daily Dirt." You'd better believe if I had that exchange on video, I would still be dining for free off the footage. Anyhoo, that was the memory that sprang to mind when I came across Susan McWilliams' piece for The Nation, in which she writes: "﻿I had long known that Hell’s Angels was a political book. Even so, I was surprised, when I finally picked it up a few years ago, by how prophetic Thompson is and how eerily he anticipates 21st-century American politics. This year, when people asked me what I thought of the election, I kept telling them to read Hell’s Angels."

Seen at Daily Kos(with apologies for the interpolated paragraphs): "There are times when the ancient or traditional views may lend some insight into contemporary society. Perhaps, the traditional concept of wétigo (soul sickness) can help us understand some of the problems which currently exist in the United States" ... "When the Anishinabe first encountered Europeans, many of the people thought the Europeans were windigos. They saw the Europeans as exploiting the environment, consuming it with little regard for the next seven generations. The Anishinabe were concerned about the European obsession with private property and their seeming inability to share." Well worth the read.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"There are terrible truths about this nation that the public cannot be allowed to know, lest it act on them in ways that disturb the horses. It was this terror out of which the Warren Commission was formed. It was this terror that kept Lyndon Johnson from revealing Richard Nixon's treason to the world and to Hubert Humphrey. It was this terror that engendered Nixon's pardon. It was this terror that allowed the Reagan campaign to dodge how it may have fudged the release of the hostages in Iran, and it was this terror that allowed Reagan himself to skate on Iran-Contra. It was this terror that welcomed the meddling of the Supreme Court in the Florida recount of 2000. It was this terror that allowed the Bush administration to elude its accountability regarding the events of September 11, 2001, or to be called to account entirely for how and why it ran the country into war in Iraq. It is this terror from which comes the impulse to look forward and never back."

- Charles B. Pierce, writing for Esquire, about the sad, sorry, ultimately tragically predictable farce of the Electoral College handing the Presidency over to someone so manifestly unfit to serve. It's a short essay, you should read the whole thing.

It is becoming increasingly clear that this historical moment is all about Russia. Read up on your post-Cold War history. Also read your Dostoyevsky and your Tolstoy, then familiarize yourself with Bulgakov and Strugatsky. Maybe watch a few Tartovsky films. If you're young, start learning how to speak and read Russian. Come on... hop to it!

The Electoral College convened and only two so-called Hamilton, or faithless, electors refused to reward failed businessman and fascist demagogue Donald J. Trump the American Presidency, despite countless questions surrounding both the integrity of the election process in a number of swing states and the looming questions of Russian and FBI interference in said election.

Another vehicular terrorist attack by an Islamic extremist kills 12, this time in Berlin, as a stolen lorry plows through a crowded event taking place at a popular Christmas Market.

A DEEPER DIVE

A new poll has revealed that nearly 60% of Trump voters believe that Trump, who received nearly 3,000,000 fewer votes than Hillary Clinton, actually won the popular vote. Or, at least, that's what they told poll-takers they believe. We have to remember that we're dealing with a cohort in this case who believe that absolutely nothing the mainstream news media reports is true, so why shouldn't they lie to the mainstream media? In their world, facts aren't true, and experts don't know shit. Lying to the media only serves to strengthen their worldview.

You're never going to convert a Trumpnik True Believer, but if you have some fence-sitting friends who doubt the fact that Donald Trump is a racist demagogue, simply forward this list. Unless they're too far gone, they will probably be hard pressed to dismiss Fortune Magazine as an organ of SJW extremism.

Reading Michael Moore's pre-election analysis/prediction, titled 5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win, turns out to serve as a pretty interesting analysis, at least partially, of what actually took place on Election Day. Point Five is particularly relevant, I suspect. I hereby regret having poo-poo'd his words as the whining of a self-rigtheously betrayed super-lefty at the time.

I realize that regular readers of this blog probably don't need any more reasons to worry about the state of American elections, but for those masochists among you who just can't help but take in as many gory details about the walking wounded system that has delivered unto us The Donald, today's edition of The Brad Blog makes for essential reading and/or listening. It includes a couple great interviews with two obviously deeply committed voting rights and electoral integrity activists that will get your blood boiling and set the hairs on your arms standing on end. If you aren't already, you should all be subscribed to Brad Blog's daily email updates, by the way.

Noted attorney E. Randol Schoenberg has filed a lawsuit against the FBI this week in order to get answers about why Director James Comey falsely suggested that Hillary Clinton committed a crime just days before the 2016 election, in what some officials are describing as a series of crimes that could potentially dwarf Nixon's Watergate scandals in significance and effect. “It’s more likely something criminal happened in the obtaining of the search warrant than… Hillary Clinton did something wrong,” Schoenberg points out before indicating that if Trump were found to be in any way involved in the FBI's decision, it would likely lead to his impeachment. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that others involved in this scheme, including New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former NYC mayor Rudi Giuliani could very well be guilty of treason.

PS - Don't worry... these daily reports won't all be this long. I just had some backlog to work through. Same goes for Suggested Readings, below. I'll be limiting my link offerings to three per day after this. Cheers! YOPJ

SUGGESTED READING(S)

Of all the notions that have been hardening into conventional wisdom since Trump's electoral "victory" in November, the one that perhaps rankles the most - because it is least true - is the idea that Hillary Clinton was widely despised prior to deciding to run for the Presidency for a second time. I know, I know... crazy talk, right? Only, it's not. Neal Gabler's informative essay lays out the facts and gives you the numbers showing how the media set up, then drove home, a self-fulfilling prophecy about Clinton's "likability" and trustworthiness. It is a must read, particularly for those who seem to think Hillary had the press safely tucked away in her bright yellow pantsuit pocket.

Heather Digby Parton's essay on Sore Winner Syndrome helps to explain why Donald Trump's supporters are still so fuckin' angry about everything, and at everyone. Turns out Abraham Lincoln knew a thing or two about that topic. I don't know whether to find that fact encouraging or depressing as hell.

For all you book fiends out there, science fiction master JG Ballard's daughter talks about how her father had long foreseen the rise of a candidate like Donald Trump in this excellent interview with The Guardian.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"There is going to be chaos, unthinkable things will happen, but Trump is not going to have a free hand. This is a big, diverse country and Trump is a minority president with a lot of demonstrated weaknesses. He is going to be struggling too. Be scared, be angry, be noisy, and don’t act intimidated even if you are. The story is still being written."

Read all about Stanley Kubrick's film of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, serial killer John Wayne Gacy, and President Bill Clinton's impeachment, and more, in today's edition of the Paracultural Calendar, over at our sister blog, Useless Eater.

THE TAKEAWAY

Americans need to make electoral reform their NUMBER ONE POLITICAL PRIORITY, and must do everything in their power to return every state in the nation to the Gold Standard for Democratic Elections. Americans, visit the provided link to join the mailing list and find out more about how YOU can make this happen.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Documentarian LuLu Friesdat shares her short, disturbing new video released on Friday, revealing what appear to be machine mistallies noted by observers during the statewide "recount" of ballots by computer optical-scanners in Racine County, WI, and a stymied attempt by one observer there, Liz Whitlock, to get a hand-count of the paper ballots in question. Citing the 5% error rate by the machines that observers tallied in one small precinct in WI, Friesdat notes: "A similar error rate applied across all of Wisconsin’s 2,976,150 votes --- could produce an error of 140,000 votes. Trump won Wisconsin by 22,000 votes."

Friday, December 16, 2016

Two of the strongest and most vital anti-Trump voices on Twitter have been forced off that platform in the past 24 hours.

Journalist Kurt Eichenwald, who has photo-sensitive epilepsy, was tweeted a strobing animated gif by an alt.right "prankster" going by the name "Jew Goldstein", and it apparently caused him to go into seizure. The authorities are now involved, and Eichenwald is off Twitter for the time being. Which is awful, considering how incredibly valuable and informative his most recent contributions have been.

Second, and perhaps more disturbing in that he hasn't got any other outlets for his work, is Elliott Lusztig, who disappeared off Twitter after revealing that he'd been sent a credible death threat. It is no exaggeration to say that I've relied on Elliott's work for much of the good material that has been re-printed here in recent weeks.

I will endeavor to keep you posted with the latest about this disgusting development. In the meantime, stay strong.

UPDATE!

Eichenwald is apparently pursuing all his legal options in this case, as well he should. In the meantime, he won't be interacting with his readers on Twitter and will be limiting his engagement there for the foreseeable future. Elliott Lusztig has returned to Twitter, but the father of three has collapsed much of his previous content and, again, in a reduced capacity, thanks to some no doubt upstanding young conservative Christian activist publicly threatening to murder, then skull-fuck, his children.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

"In order to believe that the official vote tallies are legitimate, you have to accept that all of the above legitimately happened: African-Americans in the south went from turning out in droves for Hillary Clinton in the primary to not caring if she won the general election. Donald Trump got sixty-something percent of the same-day voting in Florida. The polling averages were wrong for the first time in modern history. Trump beat his poll numbers despite having spent the primary season tending to fall below them. Clinton fell below her poll numbers despite having spent the primary season tending to beat them. In every state where Trump pulled off a shocking upset victory, he just happened to do it with one percent of the vote. And in an election that everyone cared particularly deeply about, no one really turned out to vote at all. I can accept any one of the above things happening as an isolated fluke. I cannot accept all the above happening. And so for once in my evidence-driven career, I’m left to believe that the conspiracy theorists are right: the vote tallies are rigged."

- Bill Palmer, senior editor at the independent news outlet The Palmer Report, in an article entitled You're Not Imagining It, The Election Results DO Look Rigged. Bill goes into detail on a number of the above-mentioned discrepancies. The horrible thing is, his list barely scratches the surface. In any case, we will continue to post evidence of the 2016 Presidential elections being stolen here at the DDD, even if only for posterity's sake.